Jackdaw (Ship)

Edward Kenway's ship in Assassin's Creed IV is called the Jackdaw. The Jackdaw is a military clipper ship fully equipped for Naval Combat.

The Jackdaw can be upgraded with more cannons, stronger hulls, new abilities, and new weapons; many of which you saw in AC3. In addition to upgrades, the Jackdaw can be repaired and will have an expandable crew. Upgrades can be acquired through raiding, looting ships full of cargo for their goods, and in turn exchanging them for a profit. Cargo can be viewed on individual ships through Edward's Spyglass. The Jackdaw can also be customized, being treated as a second "main character" of the game.

As a pirate vessel the Jackdaw flies a Jolly Roger (that is a skull against a black flag.} Once Edward joins the Assassins after Sequence 11 the Jackdaw flies a new flag. The new flag is the Assassin's symbol with a skull in the middle against a black background.

There is a seamless transfer from land to sea (controling the Jackdaw) with no loading, or cinematics. It's as easy as jumping on a horse in previous Assassin Creed titles.

Source: Ubisoft press presentation attended by IGN staff

With the Jackdaw you will be able to raid enemy fortresses and attack other ships dynamicly throughout the world.

Throughout the game you can spend money to purchase upgrades for The Jackdaw. These can be weapon upgrades such as the number of cannons, or aesthetic upgrades such as the colour of the sails, adding a level of personalisation to The Jackdaw.

Source: Ubisoft press presentation attended by IGN staff

The relationship between Edward and the Jackdaw has been compared to that of Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars, or Captain James Kirk and the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek.